Female athletes and women’s sports: Singapore can afford bigger aspirations

Fans have shown increased interest in women’s sports, particularly in the West, and broadcasters and commercial partners have jumped on the bandwagon.

Shanti Pereira of Singapore in action during the 19th Asian Games Athletics Women’s 200m final on Oct 2, 2023. PHOTO: ST FILE
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

I have been president of Netball Singapore for about six months and, in that short space of time, Singapore women athletes have made the news with some remarkable achievements.

To name just a few: Shanti Pereira’s gold at the Asian Games for the 200m and silver in the 100m, setting national records in the process; the Singapore women’s 4X100m swim medley team setting a new national record en route to qualifying for the Paris Olympics, Yip Pin Xiu’s continued dominance at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships; Netball Singapore winning the home-grown Nations Cup after 16 years.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.